Buyer’s Guide – Denver Homes For Sale

Buying a home doesn’t have to be a difficult process. Let us help you navigate Denver homes for sale by providing the answers to your most common questions. To assist in this process we’ve come up with a comprehensive 8 step process that will help you buy your new home.

The terms Agent, Broker and Realtor are often used interchangeably – but have very different meanings. In Colorado a person must be licensed in order to sell Real Estate. Standards set by the state cover the minimal education, examinations and experience needed to become licensed. After receiving a real estate license, some agents join their local and national “Association of Realtors”, the world’s largest professional trade association. The Real Estate agent can only be called a Realtor only after joining the association and subscribing to a strict “Code of Ethics” (which goes well beyond state law). It is through the realtor association that the agent agrees to collectively share the information on all Denver homes for sale. This is done through the MLS or Multiple Listing Service.

Step Two: Get pre-approved for a loan

The process of buying a home starts with determining your buying power: that is, your cash available plus your borrowing capacity. This is a vital step in the buying process – often, the difference between having your offer accepted or rejected. It is our policy for each buyer to obtain a “Pre-Approval” letter from a reputable Mortgage Lender which will be included with any purchase offer you wish to submit on a home. We will assist you in this process. As a first step, we will ask you a series of questions such as: your available cash reserves, income, current debt, cash to be freed up on the sale of your existing home, employer provided allowances for moving costs and so on. In this way we can provide you with a good estimate of your purchasing power and recommend you to a mortgage lender most suited to help you whether you require FHA, VA, Jumbo, Conventional or a first time home buyer program. We will do this for you whether you are credit perfect or credit challenged.

Step Three: Prepare your wish list

The one common starting point we have for working with all buyers is to receive from you a description of the home you would most like to have (within the constraints of your financial capability). We ask that you prepare and send us your desires for the home which ideally you would like to find. We want you to tell us what you consider important! Consider many factors including: price of home, size of home, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, garage size, lot size, commuting time to work place, access to recreational activities, age of home, neighborhood conditions, style of home, contemporary, traditional, ranch, 2-story, length of time you expect to live in new home, etc. This is an excellent opportunity to get input from all your family. We will use this as a starting point to help you locate the house which most closely meets your requirements. We will also you this as a basis to make you aware of some features which may be unique to the area’s homes and neighborhoods, which you may find desirable. With all the Denver homes for sale on the market, it’s important for us to know what you’re looking for.

Step Four: Visit properties

Within a few days after receiving your wish list we will prepare a report for you of all Denver homes for sale that closely match your desired qualities. Included in this report will be maps specific to the area where the homes are located. After getting feedback from you on which homes appeal to you, we will schedule appointments for us to personally visit the selected homes. Please keep in mind that in today’s market good homes, well priced in a good location, seldom last more than 2-3 weeks on the market. We will get daily reports on homes matching your criteria as they become available. You will be notified immediately as particular homes meeting your needs come to our attention.

Step Five: Learn about the neighborhood

Once you have visited a variety of properties and decided which properties you feel you would like to make an offer on, we will prepare a detailed report for you on the neighborhood for that home – just to make sure you are knowledgeable on all aspects of the home (and neighborhood) you wish to buy. The report, at minimum – data permitting, will include the following up-to-date information: neighborhood demographics, public and private schools, climate reports, houses of worship, by denomination (if requested), proximity maps to shopping centers, country clubs, museums, schools, etc, and comparisons with other neighborhoods you choose to look at (locally or nationally).

Step Six: Make an offer

In Colorado, licensed Real Estate agents are authorized by the Colorado Real Estate Commission to prepare contracts to purchase real estate if the forms used are approved by the Real Estate Commission. Once you decide which house you wish to place and offer on, you will have many decisions to make including: purchase price you wish to offer, financing terms including cash down payment, earnest money deposit, type of loan, interest rate and pre-approval letter, time period for inspection of property, contingencies you wish to include, time period for loan approval, setting the date and time of closing, presenting the offer to sellers and negotiating and finalizing any terms and conditions which the sellers may wish to modify from the original offer presented to them through a counter-offer. Through this entire process, offering and negotiating the purchase offer, we will work closely with you to maintain timely responses and provide market savvy answers to questions as they come up.

Step Seven: Due diligence

Now that you have a negotiated agreement, the clock starts running for many items needed ot meet the requirements of the agreement and your protection. We will assist you finding qualified responsible professionals to do most of these investigations and provide you with written reports. Specifically, you will want to have an inspection of the property for such things as: the mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems, the foundation, walls, flooring and windows. You will want to see a preliminary report of title on the property to determine any easements or issues of title. Your mortgage lender will require an independent appraisal of the property. Any problems noted during the inspection are subject to additional negotiations between you and the sellers. We will help facilitate this process. If you are not comfortable with the inspection resolution with the seller, you will have the right to terminate the contract, if acted upon in a timely manner.

Step Eight: Closing and possession

Closing on the property is usually handled by the title company which issued the title opinion. We will be with you to provide answers and assistance for you during this process which usually takes from 30-90 minutes. We will be sure to review all settlement statements for you as buyer for accuracy and reasonableness. Time of possession is established at the time of negotiating the original offer. In Colorado, it is customary for the buyer to take possession at closing or up to two days after closing.

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consumers may be interested in purchasing.

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but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. The advertisements herein are merely indications to bid and are not offers to sell which may be accepted.
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